


Fighting for What's Yours

by 7ofMine



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Angst, F/F, Hurt, Jealousy, Violence, prompt, relationship difficulties, this isn't going to be pretty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:53:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28590570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7ofMine/pseuds/7ofMine
Summary: Seven doesn't take kindly to Chakotay's interest in Kathryn. Will their relationship survive, or will jealousy destroy what they've worked hard to build?PLEASE NOTE THE RATING CHANGE FOR THE FINAL CHAPTER-- BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.Note- this isn't part of the 'Currently Untitled Series' that includes 'Defining Parameters' and 'Family Is the Best Gift of All'.
Relationships: Chakotay & Kathryn Janeway, Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine
Comments: 48
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Eri2401](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eri2401/gifts).



> This isn't part of the 'Currently Untitled Series' that includes 'Defining Parameters' and 'Family Is the Best Gift of All'. It's a standalone fic, written based on a prompt from Eri2401. The prompt was "Relation crisis because of male jealousy and leading to one of the ladies being jealous." 
> 
> Eri- I hope this is somewhere close to the mark and helps to ease a bit of the tedium of lockdown. I'd say 'enjoy', but I'm not sure that's the point of this one!

Seven sits in the briefing room and watches her girlfriend, Kathryn Janeway, addressing Voyager’s senior staff. She has, appropriately, an incredibly commanding presence- when Kathryn enters the room, people stop what they’re doing and they listen. It’s incredibly attractive, and Seven is far from the only person to think so. She exudes confidence and charisma, and people are drawn to her. They always have been.

“Thanks once again to Chakotay, we’ve managed to accommodate everyone’s requests for shift changes and time off,” Kathryn smiles, resting a hand on Chakotay’s shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“Well, I can hardly take all of the credit…” Chakotay says in a poor attempt to be modest. 

_‘It’s your job. Who else should take the credit?’_ Seven thinks, rolling her eyes internally. Her eyes are glued to Kathryn’s hand on Chakotay’s shoulder, which is lingering there far longer than Seven would like.

“I’m sure you can,” Kathryn says, oblivious to Seven’s gaze. “On that positive note, let’s wind this up.”

“Captain, I had some findings I wanted to discuss,” Seven speaks up, keeping it professional.

“I’m sorry, Seven. Next time, okay?” Kathryn says reassuringly.

Seven takes a breath. “Of course, Captain,” she says, raising from her seat. She knows better than to argue with Kathryn in front of other members of the crew. It took her some time to learn, but if she needs to confront Kathryn she now does so one-on-one, and always during their shifts. After hours is for their personal life, not their professional one.

“Dismissed,” Kathryn tells the assembled crew members, rubbing Chakotay’s shoulder before she removes her hand. 

“Lunch?” Chakotay offers. “I know a great mess hall not far from here,” he tells her with a playful grin.

Kathryn laughs. “I was going to replicate something in my ready room so I could go through some reports. You’re welcome to join me,” she tells her second in command.

“Nowhere I’d rather be,” Chakotay replies.

Seven watches the exchange and clenches her jaw slightly. She straightens her chair and leaves the briefing room feeling incredibly dejected. She tries to convince herself that it’s just work and Kathryn is just being affectionate like she usually is, but the way Chakotay flirts and laps up Kathryn’s attention like an eager puppy bothers Seven. It seems to be getting more frequent and more intense, and while she did her best to overlook it at the beginning it’s becoming increasingly difficult.

That evening Kathryn doesn’t show up for dinner, standing Seven up in the mess hall. The younger of the women eventually gives up waiting and accepts whatever Neelix has on offer for dinner, not really interested in the food. 

“Mind if I join you?” B’Elanna asks, gesturing to the empty seat across from Seven. She seems relaxed and jovial this evening- as relaxed and jovial as B’Elanna can be, anyway.

“Not at all,” Seven agrees. Company might be good for her, particularly if B’Elanna is feeling more friendly than normal. There’s likely to be less awkward silences, and Seven doesn’t want to face silence at the moment.

B’Elanna smiles and takes a seat. “It’s rare to see you having dinner in here alone,” she comments as she tucks into her meal.

“It wasn’t my intention,” Seven confesses. “And now I’m not,” she adds, acknowledging the engineer’s presence.

“You were meeting someone?” 

“The Captain,” Seven says, starting to eat her own dinner. She isn’t going to volunteer any more than that. She is getting closer with B’Elanna, but she and Kathryn have agreed to keep their relationship under wraps as long as possible to delay the inevitable barrage of questions and attention.

“Oh,” B’Elanna replies, shrugging it off. “I’m sure whatever she and Chakotay are working on is important.”

This makes Seven pause. “She’s working on something with Chakotay?” she asks, managing to keep her tone casual despite the internal turmoil the revelation has caused.

“Tom said they were holed up in her ready room all afternoon,” the half-Klingon informs Seven, not realising that that may bother her dinner companion.

“I see.” Seven decides to focus on eating to keep her mouth busy so it doesn’t let out words it shouldn’t. 

“It’s a shame you didn’t get to share your findings during the meeting today. I’d have liked to have seen them,” B’Elanna tells her sincerely. She and Seven have a good working relationship now, and are much more comfortable collaborating than they were when they first started working together.

“Perhaps another time,” Seven replies, trying not to sound as dejected as she feels.

“You should see if you can set up a time with the Captain,” the other woman encourages. “I’m sure she’ll have time for you at some stage.” She’s trying to be helpful, but it’s making Seven feel worse. 

Thankfully for Seven she is quite proficient at keeping her facial expression neutral. “I’m sure she will,” Seven responds, eating some more of her meal. She wonders how long it will take her to get through this plate of food, wait patiently for B’Elanna to finish, then return to Cargo Bay 2. Perhaps she will feel less emotional if she regenerates. This negativity is unpleasant and inefficient.

When the meal eventually ends- mercifully B’Elanna had changed the subject- Seven returns to Cargo Bay 2. It’s nowhere near as good as astrometrics for getting work done, but she is able to review some plans she has and consider her next steps, having decided it’s too early to regenerate. The work is far from an unwelcome distraction. Half an hour into it, she hears the door chime and slide open, and Kathryn enters.

“I thought I’d find you here,” the older woman tells her. She pulls a flower out from behind her back and offers it to Seven. “I saw this in hydroponics and thought it was beautiful. It reminded me of you.”

Seven takes the flower and rests it on the console she’s working on. She’s glad something made Kathryn think of her rather than Chakotay, but a flower isn’t going to fix the situation they’re in. Right now Seven wonders if it’s meant to serve as a wordless apology; a verbal one certainly hasn’t been offered. “Thank you,” she says quietly, continuing to tap at the buttons in front of her.

 _‘Well, that didn’t go over how I thought it would…’_ Kathryn thinks, concealing a frown. “What are you working on?” Work is usually a good topic with Seven- she enjoys it, and often has interesting insights she’s keen to share with Kathryn.

“I need to concentrate on this,” Seven tells Kathryn. She isn’t sure if she’s angry, disappointed or hurt right now. These feelings are confusing and problematic for her. Whatever it is, she doesn’t like it one bit.

“Oh. I’ll just stand here then,” Kathryn offers, closing her mouth and standing ‘at ease’. She can wait, and then they can spend some time together. That will be nice.

“I have already wasted significant time this evening. I will not have time to converse,” Seven says, not looking up from her console. It’s partially true- she did waste time waiting for Kathryn to show up to dinner earlier, but nothing she’s working on is pressing enough to require her attention tonight.

Kathryn does frown now, not bothering to hide it. This isn’t like Seven. She studies her girlfriend’s profile as she works and, taking the less-than-subtle hint, she decides to leave. The Captain steps closer and rests a hand on Seven’s back, kissing her cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she tells her gently.

Seven ignores the gesture and the words, pretending to focus intently on what she is doing. She’s scared that if she makes eye contact with Kathryn now she will let all of her thoughts and feelings come tumbling out, and she isn’t ready to do that. She hopes she never has to.

When Kathryn doesn’t even receive a nod from Seven it feels like she’s been stabbed in the gut. That was cold. Has she done something wrong? She doesn’t think so. Seven is normally focussed, but Kathryn is used to being able to draw her attention, particularly after hours. She waits for a minute longer, hoping in vain that Seven will respond in some way. Not having any luck, she turns and leaves the Cargo Bay, heading back to her own quarters for the evening. 

Kathryn lays in bed that night, staring at the ceiling. Seven hasn’t been herself lately and she doesn’t know why, but today she’s been particularly bad. Her reception in Cargo Bay 2 was downright cold, and the Captain can’t shake the feeling that she’s done something wrong. It’s almost 3 a.m. when her stomach rumbles and she finds herself wishing she had had more for dinner. _'Dinner! Oh, shit…_ She feels terrible. How could she have forgotten? No wonder Seven is upset with her. She briefly considers interrupting the other woman’s regeneration cycle to apologise, but decides that she will wait until morning- if Seven is regenerating she’s peaceful, and it isn’t fair to interrupt that to assuage her own guilt. She’ll ask Chakotay to cover for her for a while this morning and encourage Seven to skip the start of her own shift so she can talk and work out what she can do to make it up to the younger woman.

When Seven’s regeneration cycle ends the next morning she steps down from her alcove and the first thing she sees is the flower Kathryn had brought her the night before. It serves as an instant reminder of how terrible she had felt the evening before, and Seven knows she needs to talk to Kathryn about this. Kathryn isn’t ‘hers’- not in the sense of her being property, anyway, but Seven thought they were monogamous and feels she needs to be honest with her about how Chakotay’s attention towards the Captain makes her feel. If Kathryn decides she would prefer to pursue things with Chakotay then Seven will be heartbroken, but at least she knows where she stands. She makes quick work of brushing her teeth and fixing her hair- not that there was anything really to fix- before leaving Cargo Bay 2 and heading straight for Kathryn’s quarters.

“Come,” Chakotay calls out when he hears the door to his room chime. The doors slide open and he lights up when he sees Kathryn. “This is a pleasant surprise,” he tells her. “Can I offer you something to drink?”

“No, thank you,” Kathryn says, stepping inside so the door can slide shut behind her- passersby don’t need to hear her requesting that Chakotay take over for a few hours. “I was just on my way somewhere and was wondering if I could request a small favour,” she asks hopefully.

“Of course. Anything,” Chakotay assures her. He’s always happy to do whatever he can for his commanding officer.

“Would you be able to fill in for me for a few hours this morning, please?” Kathryn requests. “There’s something I need to discuss with Seven.”

 _‘She’s probably gone rogue again,’_ Chakotay thinks to himself. _'Or maybe it’s about the interaction at the end of the meeting yesterday.’_ “Not a problem,” he agrees. “It might cost you, though. Dinner tonight?”

Kathryn smiles. She can hardly deny him when he’s just agreed to do her a favour. “Of course. My quarters?” she offers. She usually hosts dinner- she likes attempting to replicate food, and she’s more comfortable in her own space than his.

“Perfect,” Chakotay says. “I’ll bring the wine.”

“Thank you, Chakotay,” Kathryn says with a smile. She presses the button to exit his quarters, turning back to add one last comment before she departs. “I’ll see you tonight,” she says. “1900. My quarters.” If she had been just a fraction faster she might have seen a stunned Seven of Nine cover her mouth to stifle a sob and turn back the way she came from, running towards Cargo Bay 2 before anyone can see her cry.


	2. Chapter 2

Kathryn makes her way through the corridors on her way to Cargo Bay 2, eager to see Seven and make things right with her. She would never intentionally hurt her. She loves her. The Captain greets several crew members with a polite ‘good morning’ as she passes them, but makes sure she doesn’t get delayed by being sucked into a conversation. 

When she enters the Cargo Bay the Starfleet officer looks around. The flower she gave Seven is sitting where she left it the evening before, and Kathryn understands why. She can’t see her girlfriend, but she picks up the flower anyway and replicates a small vase with some water to put it in. Perhaps there are ‘better’ uses for the ship’s resources, but what’s the point of being the Captain if she can’t make minor frivolous decisions for the woman she loves every once in a while?

Seven can see Kathryn from her spot hidden behind some storage containers. She had found Naomi there once and has lately taken to sitting there when she needs some privacy, concealed from view but able to keep a watchful eye on everything that is occurring around her. Thankfully today she had managed to get comfortable before Kathryn entered and she had to face her. She has never understood how people could say they felt ‘heartbroken’ until now. Her chest aches, and she isn’t sure why ‘heartbreak’ doesn’t also reference the sick feeling she has in her stomach and the burn of the bile rising in her throat. Chakotay doesn’t know that she and Kathryn are a couple, yet somehow the blame is landing square on his shoulders in Seven’s eyes. She’s so enamoured with Kathryn that she can’t even fathom that this is a choice the Captain has made. 

When Kathryn leaves the cargo bay Seven chokes out a sob she had been holding back, succumbing to the tears that have been threatening to fall since she saw her girlfriend leaving the man’s quarters first thing in the morning and promising to see him that evening.

Kathryn checks Astrometrics and the mess hall, sighing when she can’t find Seven anywhere. She’s just about to ask the computer to locate Seven when the whole ship shakes. Not two seconds later they’re at red alert, and Kathryn is talking to Chakotay through the comm system as she hurries to the bridge. She isn’t sure what it was yet, but whatever hit them did so hard.

“Captain on the bridge!” Harry announces loudly as she joins them.

“Status report,” Kathryn demands, ready for whatever they’re about to face. Chakotay isn’t due on the bridge quite yet, and neither is Kathryn, but she isn’t going to ignore a red alert. She takes a seat in her chair just as they take another hit.

“Direct hit on the port side. Shields 80%!” she hears announced somewhere behind her. 

“Hail them,” Kathryn orders. When the screen lights up she’s faced with a species she isn’t familiar with. “I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. Why are you attacking us?” she asks.

“You have entered a restricted zone,” the person Kathryn assumes is the captain of the other ship tells her. “Reverse course and leave the area.”

“There was nothing to say that this was restricted space,” Kathryn argues. “We aren’t here to cause trouble, we’re just trying to make our way home,” she tries to explain. Was it really necessary to fire on them? 

“Captain, three more ships approaching,” Harry interrupts her.

“We’d just like to pass through. No stops and no diversions,” Kathryn tries to reason with the man on her screen.

“You will leave, or you will be destroyed,” the man demands. “I will send you charts that indicate the border of restricted space. You have two minutes to correct course.” With that he closes the communication channel.

Kathryn sighs. “Seems friendly,” she says sarcastically. “Harry, alter course. Take us back the way we came. Maintain red alert until we’re out of the restricted area. I don’t want to get involved in a fire fight right now- certainly not one where we’re outnumbered.”

“Aye, Captain,” the Ensign agrees, plotting a course as ordered.

“Chakotay and Seven of Nine to the briefing room,” Kathryn tells them through the ship’s communication system. “Harry, when we’re out of here you’ll join us,” she says. He often works with Seven in Astrometrics, and it makes sense to have him involved in the conversation about how they would alter their course to avoid this particular area. She maintains her spot in the Captain’s chair for now, waiting patiently until they’re out of the ‘danger zone’. “Not the start to the day I’d have hoped for,” she says when they’re free of the restricted area. At least she’s able to breathe a little more easily now. In the time it has taken them to leave the area Tom has arrived and Kathryn stands. “Mr. Paris, you have the bridge. Harry, you’re with me,” she instructs, leading the way to the briefing room.

It doesn’t take much longer for Chakotay to join them. “What was that?” he asks as he enters, waiting for Kathryn to catch him up.

“Harry, can you pull up those charts?” she requests, gesturing to one of the panels on the wall. She crosses to the panel, joined by Harry and then Chakotay, with the first officer taking his spot to her left, their upper arms touching as they study the information in front of them.

“Should we wait for Seven?” Harry asks. The words have barely left his mouth when the other woman enters the briefing room. “Ah, speak of the devil,” he smiles. 

Kathryn looks up. If she didn’t know her better she would think Seven has been crying. Seven doesn’t cry, though, so she must be mistaken. “It looks like we’re going to have to change course,” she says. “Seven what have you found in your long-range scans that might prevent us from going around this area instead of through it?” she asks, gesturing to the chart in front of them.

Seven is determined to keep this professional. She won’t give them the satisfaction of seeing her upset. She approaches the panel and clenches her fist so firmly she thinks her nails might draw blood from her palm when she sees Kathryn put a hand around Chakotay’s shoulder and bump against his hip to encourage him to step to the side to make room for Seven. She takes a breath and focuses on the information presented in front of her. “This area is vast,” she comments. “Its borders fall outside the coordinates we have scanned. We never planned to deviate this significantly from our plotted course,” she admits. She also didn’t plan on being cheated on, but here she is. “If you transfer these to Astrometrics I can start conducting scans now and calculate a more appropriate route.” Even better, she’ll be away from Kathryn and Chakotay.

“Thank you. Let’s do that,” Kathryn agrees. Their conversation regarding the missed dinner plans is clearly going to have to wait. “Chakotay, let’s see if we can work out who it is that we were dealing with,” she says. “Dismissed, everyone,” she decides. “Oh, I almost forgot- Harry, you’re with Seven if she wants the help.” she says.

The younger woman tries to bite her tongue but can’t quite hold it. “As long as you remember the things that are important to you, Captain,” she says bitterly, turning and leaving before the Captain can respond. It’s rude, inappropriate and insubordinate, but she’s doing her best to keep it together right now and it’s not easy. She has to have some sort of release.

“What was that about?” Chakotay asks, furrowing his brow. Seven has been more or less behaving lately- she still slips up, but this is poor behaviour, even for her.

“Bad day, I suppose,” Kathryn says. She doesn’t need Chakotay to know that Seven is upset because she accidentally stood her up for dinner the night before. It’s none of his business, and she doesn’t want to have people thinking that their personal life is going to interfere with their working relationship. 

Harry stands awkwardly off to the side. There’s no way he wants to go to Astrometrics with Seven when she’s in a bad mood, particularly if they’ll have to collaborate and he’ll inevitably end up in the firing line. “Permission to return to normal duties unless I’m called for?” he asks hopefully. Receiving a nod of approval from the Captain he leaves the room. 

Kathryn sighs. “Alright,” she tells Chakotay. “Let’s get back to the bridge. We can work this out from there.”

On her way to Astrometrics Seven wonders if it’s a good or a bad thing that she doesn’t have private quarters; on the one hand she would love to retreat there right now and let out the emotions she’s been feeling. On the other hand she doesn’t think that would be a particularly productive use of time, and she doesn’t want to have to explain why she was missing from the Astrometrics Lab and hasn’t finished her work. She swallows hard as she attempts to process the emotions she’s feeling right now. Jealousy, of course. She recognises that, despite not having felt it as a result of anything other than her relationship with Kathryn. Sadness. Hurt. Anger. Regret. They all start to bubble to the surface and she has to stop walking to steady herself with a hand on the wall. She’s feeling faint. The last thought she has before she blacks out and hits the floor is that there’s a reason why she’s feeling all of these things. She’s in love.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've borrowed heavily (and by this I mean blatantly plagiarised) some dialogue from one of the episodes of Voyager here. It 'fit', so I used it. Just want to be transparent about it! :)

When Seven wakes up in sickbay she groans and stubbornly keeps her eyes closed; the overhead lights are far too bright. Her eyelids flicker a little before curiosity regarding her surroundings overtakes the discomfort of opening them and she looks up to see the Doctor standing over her with a hypospray. She sits up slowly, trying to piece together what happened.

“Your cortical node began to shut down,” the Doctor tells her. “Fortunately, I managed to stabilise it before there was any permanent damage.”

Seven furrows her brow. “It was functioning properly when you examined me two days ago,” she replies, a hint of accusation in her otherwise confused tone.

“I’m going to run a diagnostic on your entire cortical array, but it might help if I knew what you were doing before you collapsed. Did you suffer a physical injury of some kind?”

Seven ducks her head, averting her eyes. She’s not even attempting to appear like she’s being forthcoming with information. “No.”

“Were you exposed to any unusual radiation?” The Doctor wants to get to the bottom of this; he can’t have patients just collapsing.

“No.” Seven grips the edge of the examination table, flexing her fingers around it in an attempt to ground herself.

“What exactly _were_ you doing, then?” he asks with what he hopes is an encouraging smile.

Seven continues to avoid eye contact. “Walking.”

The EMH wonders briefly if Seven or Kathryn is his most stubborn patient; neither are particularly good at seeking treatment or following directions. At least Kathryn is forthcoming, even when it’s to tell him that she has ignored his recommendations. “The Captain informs me you left the briefing room in a hurry,” the Doctor tells her. “And I took the liberty of running an analysis on the clear fluid I found on your face. Predominantly water, but also sodium and over 1500 different proteins… Tears.”

“I trust you’ll respect doctor-patient confidentiality,” Seven says, knowing there’s no point denying that she was crying.

“Of course,” the Doctor assures her in a hushed tone. Whatever is going on must be bad for Seven to be crying. He still recalls the first time she did; it’s such a rare occurrence that she thought there was a problem with her ocular implant.

Seven takes a deep breath, steadying herself, then exhales. “I have been… engaged in a romantic relationship with another member of the crew,” she admits reluctantly. 

“I see..” the Doctor says, his tone neutral in the hope that it will encourage her to continue.

“It appears that that person has chosen to engage in…” she pauses. How should she put this? “Intimate relations with a third party.”

“Oh, Seven,” the Doctor says sympathetically. It’s no secret that he has been in love with Seven for years, and he wishes he could make her feel better now. He knows he would never hurt her or cheat on her. Who in their right mind would do that?

Seven studies a spot on the floor, hoping that focussing on it hard enough will prevent her from getting upset again. 

“The Captain has requested I inform her when you are awake,” he says quietly, sensing that Seven doesn’t need him to be loud and chipper right now, nor to probe further into her relationship issues.

“No,” Seven tells him, looking up. It’s clear she means what she’s saying. 

“Seven, I can’t have her wondering about the status of one of her crew members. Particularly one who has been tasked with working on charting a new course for us,” he tries to reason with her.

“Very well,” Seven agrees. There’s no point arguing on this one.

“You relax here,” the EMH encourages. “I’ll update the Captain and see if I can determine what went wrong to make you lose consciousness.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Seven replies sincerely. She lays back reluctantly then, deciding it’s probably for the best until they work out what has happened. Before she knows what has hit her she’s fallen asleep.

Kathryn hurries to sickbay when the Doctor lets her know that Seven has woken up. As luck would have it, she’s not unconscious when Kathryn arrives, but she’s asleep. The Doctor leaves the Captain to have some time with Seven and she takes full advantage, standing next to her and stroking Seven’s hair tenderly. She still hasn’t had a chance to apologise for standing her up for dinner, and now Seven is like this? What if she hadn’t woken up and that was the last thing that ever happened between them? She’s thankful that she’s naturally affectionate and can touch Seven like this without arousing suspicion from anyone. While right now she wouldn’t give a damn if the whole ship knew they are in a relationship she doesn’t want to make the decision to announce it unilaterally. That wouldn’t be fair.

When Seven eventually stirs she can feel something touching her head. Surely the Doctor wouldn’t choose now to be weird with her. 

“Hello, beautiful lady,” a familiar voice coos. “I’m glad you’re awake. You gave us quite a scare.”

Seven opens her eyes and scowls. “Get out,” she tells Kathryn, mustering up energy she wasn’t aware she had.

Kathryn recoils slightly. “I… Seven, I’m sorry,” she apologises. She was going to leave the apology until Seven was feeling a little better, but it appears that might be too late.

“I said get out,” Seven repeats more firmly. “Either you leave now or I call the Doctor to have you removed.”

“Seven, please,” the Captain pleads with her. She needs to try once more before she leaves. She has to apologise. “Please listen to me.”

“No. Go.” Seven orders. She’s starting to feel faint again and she’s about to open her mouth to continue to her verbal assault when, for the second time that day, she passes out.

The Doctor hurries to Seven’s side when Kathryn calls him, sighing. “What happened?” he asks.

“We had a disagreement,” Kathryn tells him vaguely. “She was talking and then she was like this.” She’s worried about Seven. Incredibly so.

“I think it’s best if you leave,” the Doctor tells the Captain. “With Seven’s permission I’ll let you know if there’s any change.” Kathryn looks like she’s about to argue, and the EMH gives her a look that suggests he isn’t going to take no for an answer. 

“Thank you, Doctor,” she says dejectedly, taking one last look at her girlfriend before leaving sickbay. If concern over a loved one was an illness, Kathryn is convinced she’d be in one of the sickbay beds alongside Seven on life support now. She wants to hold her and kiss her and tell her how deeply, deeply sorry she is and that she’ll make sure the Doctor gets to the bottom of whatever is hurting her, but all Kathryn can do is return to the bridge.

The Doctor monitors Seven but leaves her as she is right now. He figures if her body is continuing to have her lapse into unconsciousness there is more than likely a reason for it. While she lays peacefully he reviews her scans and what he knows from Seven and from Kathryn. Strangely, it doesn’t even occur to him that the Captain and the ex-drone are lovers. Yes, they argued, but Seven can be abrasive at times and the Captain is easily riled up when it comes to her protege. They have a way of pushing each other’s buttons. If anything, this makes him even less suspicious that the two of them are together. When he finally has some answers he uses a second hypospray to wake Seven. Hopefully she’ll stay awake this time.

“I don’t want you here,” Seven murmurs as she comes to.

“Well, I’m afraid that you’re stuck with me,” the Doctor replies dryly, knowing that comment wasn’t meant for him.

“I’m sorry,” Seven apologises quietly. “I thought you were the Captain.”

“Equally as charming, but less hair,” the Doctor tells her, scanning Seven again. “How are you feeling?”

“Odd. Did I lose consciousness again?” she enquires. When the Doctor answers in the affirmative there’s only one logical follow-up question. “What’s wrong with me?”

“It appears that you aren’t malfunctioning,” the Doctor says. “But rather working exactly the way the Borg designed you to work. When you experience high levels of emotional arousal, whether they be positive or negative, it appears that there is a failsafe activated in your body and your cortical node begins to shut down. I suspect it’s to stop drones who are experiencing emotions from causing dissent,” he says grimly.

Seven frowns. “I see.” This is far from convenient.

“I believe with a series of procedures I may be able to rectify the issue,” the Doctor says optimistically. “But it will take time, and recovery may be unpleasant. We can start your treatment as soon as you’re ready.” He assumes she will want to go ahead with it- why wouldn’t she?

“I won’t be needing the treatment,” Seven tells him flatly. She’s already decided.

“What do you mean? What about your relationship?” he asks.

“As far as I am concerned that is over,” the ex-drone replies. She isn’t happy about it, but she isn’t going to cry in front of the Doctor, either. “I have no need for the procedures. This will serve as a reminder for me to not allow myself to become romantically attached in future.”

“But Seven… It was wonderful progress that you were opening yourself up to someone like that,” the Doctor encourages. “You deserve companionship and love.” 

“Look at what those things have gotten me,” Seven tells the Doctor detachedly. “Am I cleared to return to duty?”

The Doctor isn’t going to push Seven now- she’s been emotional to the point of losing consciousness twice today, and he isn’t keen to risk a third. “You are,” he tells her cautiously. “But I believe you need to deal with these emotions. If you don’t, I expect you are going to have further episodes like this.” He pauses, making sure that Seven is really listening to him and appreciates the gravity of his words. “My recommendation would be to confront the situation head-on.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Violence ahead.

Seven of Nine’s left fist connects solidly with Chakotay’s right cheekbone, landing with a sharp smacking noise and sending the second-in-command reeling. This probably isn’t what the Doctor meant when he suggested she confront the situation ‘head-on’ but oh boy does it feel good!

“Damn it,” he says, glowering at Seven and bringing his fingers up to touch his rapidly-swelling cheek.

“I’m just warming up,” Seven tells him, circling him with her fists raised, guard up. “That was only a jab.”

Chakotay watches Seven, staying light on his toes as he turns to keep facing her as she circles him. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks, his eyes darting from spot to spot on her body, looking for an opening in her defence. 

Seven throws another left jab in response, followed quickly by a right.

Chakotay shrugs and extends his arm, catching Seven in the jaw. He watches her take half a step back and shake her head a little, clearing her mind and re-centring herself. He spots another opening and goes for her ribs, narrowly missing as she dodges his punch, quickly turning to land a back kick square in his stomach. He doubles over with the force of the impact, but fights the urge to stay that way, straightening up instead to keep defending himself. “Not bad for a woman,” he says, which only serves to wind Seven up more.

The ex-drone descends on him with flying fists, only connecting about half the time as she attempts to land whatever punches she can against the taller, more solid body in front of her. She’s fighting with her emotions, not her head, and it shows. “You’re a son of a bitch,” she hisses at him.

“My mother might be a bitch, but at least I know where she is,” Chakotay goads her as he kicks Seven’s right knee, watching with satisfaction as she lands heavily on the same knee with a thud. He towers over her. “Do you still think about yours? Or do you call the Borg Queen ‘mummy’ now?” 

Seven growls and extends her left leg, swinging it around to sweep Chakotay’s feet from underneath him, knocking the wind out of as he slams into the ground.

 _‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall,’_ she thinks to herself. She scrambles across the floor to grapple with him, only to have Chakotay roll out of the way. She takes the opportunity to get to her feet again, keeping her distance from Chakotay so he can’t sweep her feet out the way she did to his. “Get up,” she tells him, seething. She wants to rearrange every bone in his stupid, smug face.

Chakotay takes some time to catch his breath and then raises to his feet again. “You think I don’t know what this is about?” he asks. It seems he’s hoping to buy himself some time to recover a little more before he attacks.

“I’m sure you know exactly what it’s about,” Seven tells him. She keeps her distance to let him compose himself- this will be so much more satisfying if she can draw it out. Why not make him take a beating rather than finishing it quickly?

“And you think it’s going to fix the situation?” he asks, starting to slowly move towards Seven now. He watches her back up a little and takes a larger step to keep closing the distance. He strikes again and catches Seven in the mouth, splitting her bottom lip. 

Seven groans as she feels pain sear through her mouth and bottom jaw. The impact jars her neck and she’s sure she feels it in her brain. She moves her fist, wiping blood off on the back of her hand. “Maybe it will teach you to keep your hands to yourself,” she says, connecting with Chakotay’s cheek this time. “If nothing else it’s satisfying.”

“Punching me?” Chakotay asks, wincing as he feels the swelling in his cheek starting to force his eye to close a little. “Or being punched?” he asks, striking Seven directly on her ocular implant this time. He regrets his decision almost instantly- metal doesn’t yield the way flesh does.

“You call that a punch?” Seven asks. She knows it has to have hurt- it felt far from good on her end, and her vision in that eye flickers; he’s obviously managed to damage the implant. The Doctor will have a field day with this. She fakes a left jab, then connects with Chakotay’s side with a right hook. “Come on. Show me what you’ve got,” she says, standing in front of him proudly, her arms by her sides. Her tongue sneaks out to run over her lip, the metallic taste of blood not deterring her. “Free shot.”

Chakotay sizes her up, appearing to weigh his options. 

Seven watches him, imagining what must be going through Chakotay’s head right now. ‘If Kathryn wants me, I’m not going to be deterred by a half-Borg. Her loss is my gain.’ Or, perhaps ‘to the victor go the spoils.’ He takes his shot, punching Seven firmly in the stomach. She has the gall to scoff, so he does it again, more firmly this time.

“Come on!” she challenges him. She’s still seeing red, but anger is a lot easier for her to deal with than sadness. “Harder!” She stands still despite the force of the impact and Chakotay punches again, connecting with her ribs this time. She’s sure she hears a cracking noise, but rage and adrenalin block out the pain. “Harder!” she yells at him again.

Chakotay moves in and smirks. “That’s exactly what Kathryn said to me in my quarters last night.” He goes to strike Seven again, but apparently that little quip was the final straw. It only takes a split second and the blonde woman has let out a growl and launched herself at him, tackling him to the ground.

Seven can’t think about anything right now except for beating Chakotay to a pulp. She’s straddling his midsection and her fists are connecting with his face solidly, making their way around his defences more often than not. The skin on her knuckles is broken and bleeding, but it’s nothing compared to the mess she’s making of his stupid, girlfriend-stealing Marquis face. She doesn’t relent until he gives up the fight. She’s fairly sure she’s knocked him out. Breathless, she raises to her feet and looks down at him, flexing her fingers. Along with the ocular implant and ribs, she’s fairly sure she’s fractured a knuckle or two. She surveys her handiwork for a moment or two while she catches her breath before speaking. “Computer. End Program.”

The simulation ends, and Chakotay’s holographic body disappears along with the room they were fighting in. The ex-drone sighs and looks down at her bloodied and swollen hands, still experiencing flickering in the vision of her left eye. She feels better, but while she’s solved the problem of the aggression she was feeling towards the commanding officer- she’d never actually harm him- she now has a new problem. How the hell is she going to explain her injuries to the Captain and the Doctor?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You didn't think I'd really have Seven hurt someone out of anger, did you? ;)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those of you who have been commenting. You're the best, and you're the reason I'm motivated to keep writing and posting every day. 
> 
> Something that made me laugh was that in your comments (whether it was from autocorrect or intentional I don't know) Chakotay's name has been switched out for other 'ch' words. So far I've had 'Chuckle' and 'Chipotle'. For some reason I find it highly amusing. 
> 
> Enjoy!

After some consideration, Seven decides that the best thing to do would be to initiate a site-to-site transport. She can only imagine the stares she’ll receive if she walks from the holodeck to sickbay looking like she’s sure she does right now. Given her choice she’d return to the cargo bay to regenerate, but she knows that even her nano probes aren’t going to fix this damage. She doesn’t want to just appear in sickbay, though, so she transports herself to just outside the entrance and then walks in.

“Please state the nature of the- Seven!” the Doctor exclaims when he sees her. “Quickly, come and sit,” he encourages. “What happened?”

Seven walks gingerly to the examination table and winces as the shooting pain in her ribs intensifies when she has to manoeuvre herself up and onto the flat surface. “A little accident,” she says. She wonders how much detail she needs to tell the doctor. Perhaps, with her recent blackouts, she can get away with saying she fell. If it wasn’t for the damage to her knuckles she suspects she probably could make him believe that. 

“You look like you’ve been beaten,” the EMH frowns as he starts conducting scans to determine the extent of the damage. “Your hands suggest you got in a few shots of your own, though,” he observes. When Seven says nothing he completes the scans in silence. “Three cracked ribs, two broken knuckles-“

“And a partridge in a pear tree?” Seven adds, trying to alleviate the tension with humour.

“This is not a joking matter,” the Doctor scolds. “Seven, the damage is extensive. Your face is covered in contusions and is severely swollen and bruised. Your ocular implant is damaged, and you are experiencing some minor internal bleeding; if internal bleeding can ever really be considered ‘minor’.”

Seven sits silently. What is she supposed to say? She avoids eye contact with the Doctor and waits for him to continue. 

The Doctor has a sudden realisation. “Is this because of what I said about attacking the problem head-on?” he asks, alarmed. “This isn’t what I meant!” 

Seven grits her teeth slightly as the adrenalin starts to wear off and the consequences of her actions make themselves achingly, throbbingly apparent. She’s sure the next question is going to be who else was involved, and do they need medical attention, so she volunteers information. “I was in the holodeck,” Seven explains. “I thought an emotional release may assist matters, and chose to take out my frustration where it wouldn’t result in someone else being injured.”

“And this is the result? Surely this can’t feel better than whatever you were going through,” the Doctor tells her. “And what about the safety protocols?”

“They were off,” Seven admits. “Now that you know can you please proceed with repairing me? I’d like to return to duty as soon as possible.”

The Doctor raises his eyebrows and shakes his head. “This isn’t going to be an easy fix, Seven. With your cybernetics I can’t repair bones the way I would with someone who doesn’t have Borg physiology. On the plus side, the alloys in your face have prevented you from having broken bones there, and I suspect you would have been a lot worse off had it not been for your other implants.”

Seven hadn’t even considered that the damage could have been worse. With the benefit of a clear mind and hindsight she can see that she probably wouldn’t have been able to withstand Chakotay’s ‘free shots’ had it not been for the Borg additions to her body and the fact that many of her bones had been replaced with metal. “Are you able to fix this without telling the Captain?” Seven asks hopefully.

“The recovery period will be too long,” the Doctor admits. “She’ll have to be informed because you’re going to miss several shifts. I don’t understand your aversion to telling-” the EMH stops. “Seven, is the Captain involved in your ‘love triangle’?” he enquires. 

Seven raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t need to.

“I’ll be a discreet as I can,” the Doctor tells her kindly. “But I’ll have to tell her something. For now, try to lay back.” He waits for Seven to recline, helping her lower herself slowly to make it less painful. The Doctor picks up the dermal regenerator and fixes the split lip and bloodied knuckles immediately- at least he can make some progress and reduce the chances of infection. He then gives her a hypospray which should reduce the rate of the internal bleeding until he can work out the best approach to tackle all of this given Seven’s unique physiology. “Rest,” he encourages and leaves Seven to do exactly that while he comes up with a plan.

Nothing could keep Kathryn away when she hears that Seven has been injured on the holodeck. She ignores the Doctor and refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer; it’s one of the privileges of being Captain. She marches into sickbay and has to stop herself from running to Seven’s side. She can see that she’s there, and she appears to be sleeping again, so she goes to talk to the EMH instead. “What is the extent of her injuries?” 

The EMH is careful with how much he shares and the specifics, particularly now that he knows Kathryn is somehow wrapped up in this drama that is upsetting Seven. “She’ll need plenty of time to recover,” he says vaguely. 

“And how did this happen?” If someone has done this to Seven there will be hell to pay. She can feel her anger rising just thinking about it.

“A holodeck incident,” the Doctor says. “I believe the safety protocols were disabled.”

“Were they functional?” the Captain enquires. Why the heck would Seven not have them on otherwise?

“As far as I’m aware,” he admits hesitantly. “She needs to rest, though, Captain. I think you should come back later.” The protective way Kathryn is acting is starting to make him suspect that Kathryn is the object of Seven’s affections, rather than the ‘third party’. He hasn’t known either of the women to pursue romantic relationships with other women in the past, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. So, now he wonders if this third person is a woman or a man. Who needs holonovels when this is his life?

“I’d like to be informed if there’s any change,” the Captain tells him. “And please let her know that I stopped by.” She knows Seven is mad at her for missing their dinner and she certainly doesn’t blame her for that, but Kathryn thinks that the intensity of Seven’s reaction and her erratic behaviour means there must be something else going on that Kathryn hasn’t picked up on yet.

“Yes, Captain,” the Doctor agrees.

With that, Janeway leaves the sickbay. It’s time to do a little investigative work. First stop? The holodeck. The Captain accesses the logs and pulls up the program Seven was running when she was injured. Chakotay appears, fully-healed and looking ‘normal’.

“Kathryn,” he smiles, stepping towards her and taking her hand in his. 

The Captain makes a confused face and takes a step back, withdrawing her hand. “Chakotay…” she replies cautiously.

“I’m so glad you’re here. I had a wonderful time last night,” he says, undeterred by her retreat. He reaches out to tuck her hair behind her ears. “You were spectacular.”

Kathryn’s eyes widen in shock. 

“Don’t be shy,” he encourages, trailing his fingers down her neck. “We’re past that now, and I’m so glad. The way your body moved against mine… The way you moaned my name…”

“Computer, end program!” Kathryn doesn’t think she’s ever ended a holoprogram that quickly before. _‘Oh god. Yuck yuck yuck,’_ she thinks to herself. She has no idea what the hell Seven’s program was meant to be about, but holo-Chakotay thinks they have a sexual relationship and that’s the last thing Kathryn wants. Feeling quite repulsed, Kathryn decides that she’ll squirrel that piece of information away for later if she needs it, but if it doesn’t come up she’s not going to admit to Seven that she invaded her privacy by checking. Whatever was going on with that version of Chakotay is not something Kathryn thinks Seven would have wanted her to know about. She wishes she could un-see it.

Kathryn returns to the bridge and sits in her chair, her mind on anything but the job. She avoids eye contact with Chakotay when she arrives and stares straight ahead instead, trying to piece everything together. Perhaps holo-Chakotay is programmed to be some sort of Casanova and flirts with every woman who enters. Is that really what Seven wants, though? A relationship with Chakotay? A deep furrow appears in Kathryn’s brow as she considers this option. Of course, that doesn’t explain the injuries. Sure, some people like a little pain with their pleasure, but there’s no way that injuries like Seven’s come from anything she agreed to in the bedroom.

“You haven’t stopped fidgeting since you got back,” Chakotay comments as he looks over at Kathryn.

The Captain looks straight ahead, refusing to meet Chakotay’s eyes right now. Yes, it was only a hologram, but it still looked real. “I’m concerned about Seven,” the Captain admits. “She’s in sickbay. She sustained some injuries,” she says.

“What happened?” Chakotay enquires, furrowing his brow.

“I don’t know,” Kathryn tells him. It’s not a lie, she genuinely doesn’t know what transpired. With a sigh she realises that she’s going to have to arrange someone else to stand in for Seven and she sends Harry to astrometrics to fill in. She tilts her head to the side in an attempt to stretch and loosen her neck muscles.

“Is your neck bothering you again?” It’s a constant battle and he still remembers the night he gave Kathryn a massage and things almost escalated into something more. He often wonders what would happen if he’d backed off a little so he didn’t scare her off, or come on a little stronger to encourage her.

“It will be fine,” Kathryn tells him, brushing it off. There’s no point doing anything about it now anyway, she’s going to be a ball of stress until Seven is recovered and their relationship is repaired. “Everything is going to be fine.”


	6. Chapter 6

After her shift Kathryn makes her way to sickbay to see Seven. She’s glad to see her girlfriend is awake and doesn’t immediately rush to tell her to go away. She does scowl and close her eyes when she sees Kathryn, though, before turning her head away. 

“How are you feeling?” the Captain asks as she approaches Seven’s bedside, undeterred by the body language. Seven has some sort of equipment covering her torso, and Kathryn hopes that means that she is getting treatment that will help her.

“Captain, I don’t wish to see you,” Seven tells her quietly, not wanting to be overheard. Anger has subsided into hurt now. Even if it hadn’t, Seven can’t really yell with her ribs the way they are, and she wouldn’t want to make a scene.

“Honey, I’m sorry I forgot dinner,” Kathryn apologises sincerely. The use of her rank rather than her name coming from Seven hurts. “Honestly I am.” She moves closer and tenderly brushes Seven’s hair back off her face. “I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you.”

Seven is still upset, but she can’t help the way she reacts to Kathryn. Her facial muscles relax and she lets out a soft sigh; she’s always had a soft spot for having her hair played with and Kathryn knows that. She doubts the other woman is doing it to be manipulative, more to soothe her, but the result is the same.

“I love you, Seven,” Kathryn whispers to her as she continues to play with her hair. “And I’m worried about you. Please tell me what’s going on?” She glances around then leans down and presses her lips to Seven’s forehead, right above her ocular implant. “I want to take care of you.”

Seven is unsure of how to react. She’s upset with Kathryn and she doesn’t understand why the other woman is doing and saying these things when she clearly wants to be with Chakotay. Does she expect that she’s going to be able to keep juggling relationships with both of them? Seven isn’t interested in sharing, and she doesn’t know if she can forgive infidelity.

When Seven doesn’t respond, Kathryn keeps whispering to her. “Can we focus on getting you better and I’ll atone for missing dinner later?” she requests. “Please? I promise I’ll fix everything.” She doesn’t want Seven to ignore the problem forever, just until she’s feeling better. The Kathryn is more than willing to suffer her wrath. 

The ex-drone nods and reluctantly opens her eyes. “Okay,” she agrees. She’s feeling so vulnerable now that it’s incredibly difficult to refuse Kathryn’s affection, no matter what logic might suggest is the better course of action. She can work through her own feelings and what she wants to do about this when she’s fully-functional, but right now she’s too sore and too tired now to not seek comfort in the familiar. 

“Thank you,” Kathryn says, touching Seven’s cheek lightly. She’s incredibly relieved. “I won’t let you down.”

Seven nods a little and looks up at Kathryn. She appears so worried, and Seven can’t reconcile this concern with the woman who spent the night in Chakotay’s quarters. “You’re so beautiful,” she tells her quietly.

Kathryn snorts a little at that. “Is that your malfunctioning ocular implant or the pain meds talking?” she asks. 

“Neither,” Seven insists. She’s sincere in the compliment, the pain meds have just made her a little more willing to share it than she otherwise might have been under the circumstances. 

Kathryn makes a small noise but doesn’t argue any further. “Do you want to talk about what happened to you?” she enquires.

“No,” Seven tells her without hesitation. 

“Does that include before and after the holodeck?”

“How do you know about the holodeck?” Seven asks, attempting to sit up despite the device covering her from the shoulders down.

“Shhh, shhh,” Kathryn soothes, encouraging her to lay back. “I didn’t mean to upset you. The Doctor told me that the safety protocols weren’t running. I don’t like seeing you hurt and thought maybe they were malfunctioning.” Truth be told, Kathryn hopes they were malfunctioning and Seven didn’t knowingly put herself in danger.

Seven sighs softly but doesn’t make any further effort to explain what happened. 

“I’m not going to push you,” the Captain says. “We can talk or not talk about whatever you want. All that matters to me right now is that you’re okay and you know that I’m here.”

The sickbay doors slide open and Chakotay walks in, smiling. “How’s the patient?” he asks, walking straight over and resting his hand on Kathryn’s back.

The Doctor has been observing the two women’s interactions- he may or may not have been eavesdropping- and Seven’s face changes the second Chakotay enters sickbay. The EMH springs into action.

“Visiting hours are over!” he announces. “Everyone out. Come on, the patient needs her rest.” He moves to shoo the Captain and Chakotay out of sickbay before Seven gets too wound up. 

Kathryn resists the shooing, frowning. “Chakotay just got here,” she protests. “And Seven and I were in the middle of a conversation.”

“A conversation which I am sure you would not want to jeopardise her rest and recovery,” the Doctor says pointedly. 

Kathryn sighs. “Chakotay, I’ll meet you outside,” she tells him reluctantly. She doesn’t want to see him at all right now- not after the holodeck incident- but she ‘owes’ him dinner in her quarters, and she’s going to have to put the interaction with holo-Chakotay out of her mind and interact with him as if nothing has transpired.

Chakotay slides his hand up Kathryn’s back and squeezes her shoulder before leaving, as requested.

When Kathryn looks back at Seven a single tear is rolling down her cheek. The Captain doesn’t know if it’s because she’s in pain or because Kathryn has to leave. She reaches out and wipes it away with her thumb. “Doctor. Could we have a moment?” she says, glancing sideways at Seven.

The EMH rolls his eyes. He feels like calling Kathryn on it and pointing out that a) he knows what’s happening between her and Seven and b) perhaps if Seven thinks Kathryn is cheating on her with Chakotay the interaction they’re about to have isn’t going to end well for the Captain. If she’s going to be brusque, though, she can find that out on her own. “Sixty seconds.” He turns and walks away.

“You’re crying,” Kathryn whispers. “Want me to deactivate the Doctor so I can stay to play with your hair?” she asks, hoping a little playfulness may lift Seven’s spirits. 

Seven clenches her jaw and her nostrils flare as she tries to hold back tears. “Just go. Chakotay will be waiting for you to take him to your quarters.”

Kathryn narrows her eyes. “How do you know about that?” she asks. She wasn’t trying to hide it, but she hasn’t had a chance to talk to Seven today- not about that.

“I’m not stupid, Captain,” Seven tells her, another tear escaping from her eye. “I know what’s going on.”

“And what, exactly, is going on?” Kathryn asks, somewhat incredulous. 

“I know you missed our dinner to be with him, and I saw you leaving his quarters this morning,” Seven accuses. 

“We were going through some incident reports,” Kathryn tells Seven. “I lost track of time last night and I knew it had hurt you- rightfully so. So I stopped by his quarters this morning to ask if he could cover for me on the bridge so I could spend some time making it up to you.” The idea of cheating on Seven is so far from her mind that she doesn’t even put two and two together and realise that Seven thinks Kathryn spent the night with him.

“So the sex was what? Quid pro quo?” She hates that she’s constricted right now. She’s hurt and angry and she wants to be moving. Pacing. Do something to get rid of these pent up emotions.

“What sex?!” Kathryn asks, all sense of volume control lost in her surprise. Had he not been behind her and therefore out of her line of sight, Kathryn would have seen the Doctor’s head poke up from behind the privacy screen like a meerkat on lookout.

“What sex? You know what sex,” Seven accuses. The tears are falling freely now, streaming silently down her face and dampening the pillow that’s propping up her head.

Kathryn brings her hand to her forehead and paces a little, trying to work out what Seven’s talking about, and then it falls into place. “You think Chakotay and I?” If Seven wasn’t so upset Kathryn might laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Her eyebrows knit together. “Is that why you had him programmed on the holodeck to act like we…? Oh, Seven.” Her face screws up in disgust. “God. Really?”

“Doctor, I know you can hear us,” Seven says, calling him on it. “Will you get this thing off me, please? I want to sit up.”

“You shouldn’t-“ he sees the look both women give him, and immediately joins them. “Right, getting ‘this thing off’,” he says, pressing a few buttons. “I’ll just—“ he points vaguely over his shoulder towards his office.

“Further away,” Kathryn tells him. “Take a walk. Explore the ship.”

The Doctor looks displeased but leaves the sickbay, thankful that at least they asked rather than just deactivating him. What’s the point of arguing?

Seven winces as she sits up and Kathryn moves forward to help her, knowing she would want to have this conversation sitting up, too, if their roles were reversed.

“Honey, how could you think I would even _look_ at another person?” Kathryn asks her, sit-in on the examination table next to Seven. “I am so in love with you, Seven. You are the only person I want to do _anything_ with- sex included. I would happily fold socks and watch paint dry if it meant time with you.”

Seven sniffles and wipes at her eyes. Damn emotions! At least she hasn’t passed out, though. “You touch him so much, and he touches you back. Even more than other people. And then you didn’t want to listen to me in the meeting, and had lunch with him. Then you missed our dinner, and I saw you coming out of his quarters first thing this morning and telling him you’d meet him in yours tonight…” Her words are coming out in staccato gasps as she tries to explain what has been going through her mind.

“Oh, Seven. No,” Kathryn tells her sympathetically. “I would never do that to you. In fact, even if you weren’t in the picture I wouldn’t have any interest in him romantically. He tried, years ago, but I made it very clear that any advances he made would be unwelcome.” She needs to be as honest as she can, not keeping anything a secret.

Something about the way Kathryn is talking to her makes Seven actually believe her. She nods but doesn’t try to speak more, attempting to get her breathing and crying under control instead; every sob feels like someone is sticking a knife between her ribs.

The only place Kathryn can think of that she is sure Seven doesn’t have an injury is her thigh, so she rests a comforting hand there. “Will you please tell me what happened now? Why did you pass out? And how did you get so badly hurt on the holodeck?” She knows holo-Chakotay was involved, but not more than that.

Seven lays the story out for Kathryn, realising now that this whole situation could have been avoided had she just spoken to her in the first place. She feels foolish, but Kathryn doesn’t make her feel that way. Instead, the Captain presses another kiss to Seven’s temple.

“When we get you out of here, I want to make an announcement about our relationship,” she tells Seven. “If that means there’s gossip and people have questions then we’ll deal with that if and when it occurs.” She reaches out and wipes a few more tears from Seven’s face, glad to see the other woman’s tears are beginning to subside. “I know we agreed that we would see how serious we were and whether a relationship between us would work before we said anything, but I think it’s fair to say that we’re well past the ‘figuring it out’ stage. Please, Seven, can we tell people about us?”

“Mhmm…” Seven replies, sniffling once more. She leans into Kathryn’s touch, feeling so much better now that this horrible situation is behind them. “I love you, Kathryn,” she tells her quietly.

Kathryn smiles, wiping one last tear from Seven’s cheek. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to lie, I don't like this chapter, but I know that if I keep re-writing it it's never going to get finished. Not fishing for comments/compliments, just letting you know that if you don't like it you aren't alone :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, here we go. The final chapter. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the prompt, Eri, and thanks to those of you who commented to share feedback.
> 
> Rating kicks up a bit here- I actually switched it to E, just in case. Trying something a bit different, so hopefully it won't put too many of you off the story, or ruin it for those of you who have enjoyed it thus far.

When it’s eventually time to leave sickbay Seven arranges to stay in Kathryn’s quarters, where she’ll have more help if she needs it in the final stages of her recovery, more privacy than the cargo bay affords and, more importantly, more Kathryn. They’re going to wait until Seven returns to her duties as normal before telling the crew about their relationship so it doesn’t look like she’s hiding away because she’s embarrassed or ashamed.

Seven has a small bag of toiletries that she brings with her to ‘move in’ for a few days, but can replicate anything else she needs. Or send Kathryn for it. She has to admit, the latter holds a certain appeal. Per the Doctor’s orders she goes straight to bed when she arrives, arranging pillows to prop herself up comfortably and keep pressure off any last bits of her that are sore.

“Do you need anything?” Kathryn asks as she re-emerges from the bathroom, having put Seven’s toiletries in there for her to use later. She smiles when the ex-drone motions for her to come closer with her finger, complying and sitting on the edge of the bed near her.

“Closer,” Seven encourages, patting the mattress next to her. When Kathryn only inches a little closer she tries again. “Closer.”

Kathryn smirks. She knows exactly what Seven’s up to. She can’t blame her- she’s been dying to have make-up sex with her, and now that they no longer have the Doctor as a chaperone she’s finding her lover harder and harder to resist. “What about your fingers and your ribs?” Kathryn reminds her. “They still aren’t healed.” 

Seven waggles her eyebrows a little. “For what I have planned the only thing I need is my tongue, and I can assure you that is fully functional.”

Kathryn moans quietly at the thought and closes the gap between them, trying to find a position near Seven where the other woman doesn’t have to lean or twist for them to kiss. They might be limited in their activities, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to skip foreplay. “Would it hurt if I sat on your thighs?”

“Not at all,” Seven assures her, ‘helping’ Kathryn settle on them. She waits until her girlfriend is steady and then draws her in for a long, slow kiss. “I’ve missed this,” she whispers against her lips, sucking the bottom one between her own full, moist ones.

“I’ve missed you,” Kathryn whispers back, undoing the pins in Seven’s hair so she can run her fingers through it. The pins get dropped off to the side somewhere, landing on either the nightstand or the carpet- Kathryn doesn’t care enough at the moment to check which. “Please don’t ever do something dangerous like that again,” she requests, not waiting for an answer before she slips her tongue between Seven’s lips to deepen the kiss. She couldn’t stand seeing Seven hurt so badly again, particularly from something essentially self-inflicted.

The ex-drone lets out a muffled ‘mhmmm’ into the kiss and rests a hand on one of Kathryn’s hips, the other sneaking up under her uniform top, cold fingers making the older woman squirm as they come into contact with sensitive skin. “Sorry,” Seven breaks the kiss to apologise.

“It’s okay. They’ll warm up,” Kathryn assures her as she rocks her hips a little to press against Seven. Upon receiving no complaint the rocking intensifies- not faster, for fear of hurting Seven, but with slow, downward pressure directly to her clit. “God,” she moans, tangling blonde hair around her fingers and gripping gently. “So good.”

This isn’t quite what Seven had in mind, but as long as Kathryn is enjoying herself Seven is happy- they can always go for round two when she’s finished. “You look incredible like this,” she encourages as her hand expertly unclasps Kathryn’s bra. She hesitates when the door to Kathryn’s quarters chimes.

“Just ignore it, they’ll go away,” Kathryn encourages, rolling her hips to get the pressure JUST right on her clit. “Are you sure this isn’t hurting you?” She checks in with Seven breathlessly, biting her bottom lip to stifle a moan as exoskeleton-covered fingers deftly pinch one of her nipples. The door chimes again and she rolls her eyes. “Whoever that is needs to fuck off,” she says earning herself a giggle then an ‘ow’ from Seven. “Oh, shit. Are you okay?” Kathryn asks with a little laugh.

“Shh… I’m fine,” Seven reassures her. “Move a little closer. I’m incapacitated and want to whisper filthy things in your ear to help get you off.”

Kathryn moans at the thought and presses as firmly as she dares against Seven’s front, not willing to completely disregard her still-healing ribs. “I never would have guessed when we started seeing each other you’d have such a deliciously filthy vocabulary,” she admits. “I’m getting close,” she adds a few moments later.

The ex-drone doesn’t mention that it’s probably because they assimilated some rather colourful characters while she was part of the collective, focussing on the present instead. Nothing kills the mood faster than mentioning the Borg in the bedroom. She nuzzles Kathryn’s neck. “I haven’t heard you complain about my filthy vocabulary when I’m begging you to fuck me harder or cum on my face,” she husks in Kathryn’s ear. Suddenly she hears something tumble and hit the floor and her head whips up, catching Chakotay gaping at them in shock, an ornament that usually sits on Kathryn’s dresser laying at his feet. “Commander!” Seven yells, shocked. Correction- _almost_ nothing kills the mood faster than mentioning the Borg in the bedroom.

She’s so lost in pleasure that it takes a second for Kathryn to cotton on to what’s happening. She isn’t a Commander, and Seven gets off on the power play between them far too much to ‘demote her’ in bed. Sensing Seven’s stillness then efforts to try to stop Kathryn moving she turns her head and catches sight of Chakotay. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing!?” she demands, quickly scrambling off Seven and adjusting the top half of her uniform. Her hair is a mess, and her bra hangs undone under her shirt, but she’s more presentable than she was a few seconds ago.

“I… You…” Chakotay stammers dumbly, blushing like mad.

“Spit it out, Commander,” Kathryn tells him through gritted teeth. “And this better be damn good.” She’s not embarrassed, she’s furious. How dare Chakotay enter her quarters without being invited?

Seeing Kathryn isn’t the slightest bit embarrassed, Seven doesn’t try as hard as she otherwise might to hide a self-satisfied smirk, her gaze fixed on the First Officer. She manages to get up and stand next to Kathryn, resting her hand on the other woman’s lower back. The touch is far from inappropriate, but it sends a very clear message. **_‘MINE’._**

Chakotay didn’t need the extra emphasis- it’s pretty clear even to him now that he isn’t in with a shot here. Kathryn’s fury and Seven’s defiance make the two women in front of him even more intimidating than usual. “I…” he still can’t find the words. “Chimed. Thought I heard something,” he manages to get out. “Thought someone was hurt.”

“No one is hurt,” Kathryn tells Chakotay, her voice low and dark. “If you EVER come into my quarters again without first being invited it will be the last thing that you ever do as First Officer. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Captain,” Chakotay replies quickly. What else can he say? He’s still in shock. Seven and the Captain? “Sorry for the intrusion,” he says and he turns, desperate to let himself out of the Captain’s quarters as quickly as possible so he can let his shock and mortification kill him in peace.

Kathryn turns to look at Seven then, unable to believe what just happened. “I’m so sorry,” she apologises, rubbing her forehead.

“Why are you sorry?” Seven asks. “You did nothing wrong. The Commander intruded.” She sighs. “I suppose that takes care of having to tell him.”

“I feel awful, though,” Kathryn tells her sympathetically. “You must have been embarrassed.”

Seven shrugs and can’t help but blush a little. “To be honest, I didn’t hate it…” she admits.

Kathryn’s jaw drops in shock. “Seven of Nine!” She exclaims before starting to laugh. “You _are_ full of surprises.”

“I wouldn’t have done it on purpose,” she assures Kathryn quickly. Kathryn’s reputation means too much to her for that, and they both need to work professionally with Chakotay but, under the circumstances, there were certainly worse people to be caught by.

“I know,” Kathryn says reassuringly. She kisses Seven softly and rests her head on her chest, her other hand over her lover’s heart. “I have to admit, knowing how you’ve felt lately I’m not exactly devastated that we ended up sending such a clear message…” 

Seven is surprised to hear this. She never would have guessed it would be something Kathryn was into. “I love you,” she tells her, kissing the top of her girlfriend’s head. “And Kathryn?”

“Yes?” the older of the two women asks, letting her eyes slip shut.

Seven’s lips quirk, revealing a mischievous little smile. “Once I’m back on my feet, I think there’s a holoprogram I’d like to show you.”

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone else who has prompts, I am off work until the end of February and while I wait for feedback on my dissertation I have a SIGNIFICANT amount of free time, so please feel free to send me prompts in the comments. I can't promise I'll fill them all, but if something catches my eye I'm willing to try :)


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